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Re: Predestination, Election, And The Sovereignty Of God [message #12226 is a reply to message #10889]

Tue, 18 April 2017 21:23

Mark L
Messages: 834
Registered: October 2006
Location: Canada

Senior Member

Predestination has always bothered me. Not the fact of it so much but Gods righteousness in doing it. Maybe a better way to put it is to say I have never been able to put it together in a way that satisfies me.

The Armenians believe God looked down through history and foreordained the ones who will believe. In spite of their protests though that still leaves humanity doing something to obtain salvation.

The Calvinistic view is set out in the post above. The objection by the Armenians to the Calvinistic view that it makes God the author of sin has I think some validity. At least the way its taught by the Calvinists. From the reading I've done their end point is that questions like that have to be left in the deeper counsels of God.

My own view more of less stated by the OP is that God foreordained our free choices. By ordering all the events issues and details around a decision so that only one choice is possible but that choice is made out of the persons own heart.

Can you imagine the kind of intelligence that can do that in advance through all of our human history. Not only ours but all of eternity with all the myriad personalities and realms there. I think that God is so big that he can't do anything but foreordain.

The biblical view as expressed by JI Packer (Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God) is that there are two streams of truth set
forth in the bible. One is that God from eternity foreordains and predestines everything. The other is that man is responsible. Like 2 railroad tracks side by side going off into the distance.
Never joining together just going off side by side.

Pauls answer to those who question Gods right to foreordain is . . . O man, who are you to reply against God? Rom. 9/19

Predestination has always bothered me for this reason. Because I can't find a way to adequately account for Gods righteousness. Not his holiness but his doing "right" And obviously that is an intrinsic part of his being. Intrinsic in that he can't do or be anything but "right"

I think part of the issue for me personally is that I like all my ducks set up neatly in a row. The bible of course doesn't do that. It just sets forth the facts and expects you to believe it.

[Updated on: Fri, 01 December 2017 16:47]

Fires will be kindled to testify that two and two make four. Swords will be drawn to prove that leaves are green in summer.”

G.K. Chesterton

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